*[Enwl-eng] Future of food
ENWLine
|
We fought for years to save our food and stop patents on seeds, and we won. But companies like Bayer-Monsanto and Carlsberg are manipulating the rules and cancelling our win. Let’s defend what we won! Tell our ministers to clarify the rules once and for all. |
Hi,
A handful of corporations own our food. [1] They decide what farmers can grow and how much we have to pay for it.
Giant companies like Bayer-Monsanto and Carlsberg can do this because they patent our seeds: from melons and tomatoes to barley used to make beer. [2]
We campaigned for five years to get the office which decides on patents (the European Patent Office – EPO), to ban patents on plants and animals. And we won! [3] But companies are cancelling our win by taking advantage of where the rules are not 100% clear. [4]
All it would take to block these companies is for ministers to make patent rules watertight. The very rules they put in place thanks to public pressure from people like us.
And we know we can do this because this time around, our community is even stronger. We also have 50 organisations joining the fight, including local breweries from across Europe.
Together let’s call our ministers to schedule an official conference and take bold decisions that will stop companies from manipulating the rules. Add your name now!
|
The greed of the likes of Bayer-Monsanto and Carlsberg is threatening the future of thousands of farms. They’re fighting tooth and nail to claim ownership of dozens of crops - like the barley used to make beer and feed animals.
Last year, 55 million tonnes of barley were grown in Europe. [5] Because anyone was free to grow seeds like these, local farmers could support their families and keep our shelves stocked with fresh products at fair prices.
And this is why we need to keep going to make sure the rules are watertight and stop patents on seeds once and for all.
|
We got the EPO to listen to us through a huge petition, various protests including in Munich at the Oktoberfest beer festival, and by dressing as screaming vegetables or delivering empty beer bottles outside the patent office. [6]
Now we are even stronger than before with more than 50 organisations (including local breweries!) on our side. This time, we need our ministers who work on patents to listen. They have the power to block companies that are trying to manipulate the rules. To do so, they need to decide in an official conference.
But they won’t do anything unless they feel the pressure. Call on our ministers to schedule the conference and stop patents on seeds! Sign now.
Thank you for being part of this,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Olga
(Bologna) and the entire WeMove Europe team
References:
[1] Today, only 10 corporations own about 75 % of the
international seed market. The three largest, Bayer-Monsanto, DuPont and
Syngenta, control over 50 % of the market. See,
http://www.no-patents-on-beer.org/en/background/negative-effects
[2]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/publications/report2021,
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/news/carlsberg2020
[3]
https://www.wemove.eu/big-win-patents?utm_source=civimail-43692&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20220222_EN
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/communications/2020/20200514.html
[4]
While patents on conventionally bred plants are prohibited, patents on breeding
by means of genetic engineering, including new methods such as genome editing
can be patented. Companies deliberately blur the lines between genetic
engineering and conventional breeding in their patent applications. In these
cases, all plants (or animals) with the characteristics described in the patent,
are claimed as an invention. In most cases, additional elements are introduced
as ‘technical toppings’ to simulate real inventions.
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/publications/report2021
[5]
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Agricultural_production_-_crops
[6]
https://www.wemove.eu/big-win-patents?utm_source=civimail-43692&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20220222_EN
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/activities/38-bottles
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/activities/180.000signatures
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate
Follow on Twitter | Like on Facebook | Subscribe on Youtube
WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy
------------- * ENWL * ------------
Ecological North West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia
Independent Environmental Net Service
Russian: ENWL (North West), ENWL-inf (FSU), ENWL-misc (any topics)
English: ENWL-eng (world information)
Send information to en...@lew.spb.org, enwl...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org
Subscription,Moderator:vf...@lew.spb.org
Archive: http://groups.google.com/group/enwl/
New digests see on https://ecodelo.org
Additionally: http://www.enwl.net.ru/
(C) Please refer to exclusive articles of ENWL
-------------------------------------